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Three Syracuse players were selected in the 2021 Premier Lacrosse League draft on Monday night. The Atlas picked short-stick defensive midfielder Peter Dearth to begin the third round with the 17th overall pick. The Cannons picked attack Stephen Rehfuss to start the fourth and final round with the 25th overall pick, and the Redwoods picked midfielder Jamie Trimboli 29th overall. 

Goalie Drake Porter wasn’t one of the 32 picks made on Monday night. Both Redwoods head coach Nat St. Laurent and Cannons head coach Sean Quirk said they expect Porter to receive a training camp invite depending on how the PLL manages those. 

Dearth entered the draft as a hovering top-10 overall talent and the third-best short-stick defensive midfielder available. The two-time All-American was selected behind short-sticks Danny Logan and Ryan Terefenko. Dearth’s 6-foot-3, 214-pound frame is expected to translate well to the PLL. He’s been a one-man clearing unit at times for the Orange, and his ability to score the ball in transition caught the attention of PLL coaches prior to the draft. 

His 22 ground balls is third on Syracuse this year. Inside Lacrosse named Dearth a second-team midseason All-American earlier this year. Dearth was the fifth player the Atlas selected in the 2021 draft. Atlas head coach Ben Rubeor noted Dearth’s speed and strength on the broadcast as reasons for his selection. 

Rehfuss largely brought himself into the draft conversation with his outstanding play this year. He previously led the Orange in assists three times but is also showcasing his finishing ability this season with a career-high 23 goals already. He leads SU in assists and points this season and is second in goals behind Chase Scanlan. Rehfuss is the only remaining Syracuse player nominated for the Tewaaraton Award, given to college lacrosse’s best player.

His 4.5 points per game mark is tied with Rutgers graduate transfer Connor Kirst for 22nd in the nation among players who have played at least five games this season. That mark is also just a shade behind Duke’s Michael Sowers, the No. 2 overall selection in the draft. 

Before the draft, St. Laurent said Rehfuss’ appeal correlated with his versatility. A creative playmaker as well as a crafty finisher, Rehfuss doesn’t necessarily need the ball at X to be effective, though he’s shown at Syracuse that he can play there. 

The Cannons started looking at Rehfuss about three weeks ago, Quirk said before the draft. Quirk liked Rehfuss’ ability to play “free” lacrosse and was looking forward to pairing him with the likes of Lyle Thompson and Andrew Kew. 

“He can fulfill all roles of being an off-ball guy, he can carry the ball, he can certainly pass the ball really well,” Quirk said. “So we kind of see him as a guy that can really do it all at that attack.”

Trimboli, on the other hand, is having a down year in terms of production despite a hat trick and assist against then-No. 5 Virginia this past weekend. His off-ball threat as a finisher appealed to PLL coaches, St. Laurent said. After tweaking his shot last year, he became the Orange’s most efficient shot converter. Trimboli scored 17 goals through five games while shooting 47.2%. This year, he has 14 goals through 10 games and is shooting 31.8%. 

St. Laurent said he was probably a little higher on Trimboli than most other PLL coaches because St. Laurent is an upstate New York product himself and has followed Trimboli since the Syracuse-midfielder was playing on a state-championship Victor High School team. 

Jamie Trimboli was selected No. 29 overall by the Redwoods. Courtesy of Scott Schild | Syracuse.com

“Of the guys coming out of Syracuse, I feel like I have the best, strongest and most confident evaluation of him,” St. Laurent said before the draft. 

The Redwoods wanted depth and a finisher, which is exactly what they’ll get out of Trimboli. He’ll likely play around more ball-dominant stars in Matt Kavanagh, Rob Pannell and Ryder Garnsey. 

“He really has a bright future in pro lacrosse because he just doesn’t need to have the ball to score,” St. Laurent said. “And we know he can shoot.” 

Porter was considered a top-two goalie entering the draft by St. Laurent. No goalies were taken in the draft, though. Porter led the Atlantic Coast Conference in save percentage each of the last two years and earned second team All-American honors in 2020. 

Having played in net all but just under 23 minutes this season, Porter allows 12.69 goals a game to pair with a .508 save percentage. Porter’s 12.6 saves per game this season is second in the ACC behind Virginia’s Alex Rode. 

Prior to the draft, both St. Laurent and Quirk noted Porter’s unconventional style which often means he doesn’t step to the ball and assume a “ready position” like most. Instead, Porter uses his hands, the quickest in college lacrosse per St. Laurent, to make reflex saves. 

That lends to his clearing game, an extremely important facet of the game in the PLL, which has a 52-second shot clock as opposed to college lacrosse’s 80 seconds. He gets his eyes up and can find the best clearing options, much like a quarterback finding wide receivers, Quirk said.

Published on April 26, 2021 at 11:42 pm

Contact Arabdho: armajumd@syr.edu | @aromajumder